Amos: Bring back Jax State rivalry
Plus, Bama might still have a playoff chance ... Troy romps in finale ... Ms. Judy photos ... a beautiful quad photo and ringing the bell for the Salvation Army.
Takeaways from Week 14 of CFB … Rivalry Week
Rivalry defined: “competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field.”
No where else is the term “rivalry” used more often than in college football, probably followed by college athletics in general. It spurns the key ingredient that makes it special, and that is emotion.
Emotion causes or produces a myriad of interesting results.
It nullifies logic; usually inspires the underdog; increases the stamina and execution of under- talented teams - and it summons the Twilight Zone, usually depending on where the game is being played, but that is not always required criteria.
How else does one explain what happens in “rivalry games?” Two things it definitely contributes to: alcohol sales and increased prayer time with Jesus.
I mean, Vegas does the research for you and tells you “this is how much this team should beat this team by on a normal day when everybody is healthy and everyone plays up to their potential.”
However, the odds-makers should put asterisks by rivalry games so that people from outside the state or fan base will know that the spread number is simply a number that does not measure the heart of a team at any given moment.
The SEC jungle has been ruled for years now by these elephants, tigers, and undomesticated bulldogs lately, but now it is like the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones has to run the gauntlet to get to the golden statue … only to run the same gauntlet of new danger on the way out…and even when he makes it out, he finds himself surrounded by natives from outside the “gauntlet” that have more knives to throw.
That is how some teams felt this week too.
Why compete against the Iron Bowl? Bring back Troy-Jax State …
TROY-USM: This annual end-of-the season game just does not have the juicy rivalry taste that the Trojans need. Bring back “Beat Jax State” Week and bring back the rivalry that these two schools salivated over for decades back in the day.
This would increase fan attendance on a weekend that already needs to be evaluated. Why compete with the Iron Bowl in any fashion? You don’t win that contest and you are losing revenue when you don’t have to. Bringing the Gamecocks rivalry back would be a good start and beneficial to both schools who deal with the same problem.
Good win by the Trojans and Coach Parker is making progress.
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The interesting games started on Thursday when former Troy head coach Jon Sumrall and Tulane got upended by Memphis. Sumrall is again mentioned for some coaching positions around CFB, like UNC.
Word on the street is Steelers offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, might be the favorite. He is also the son of FEDEX CEO Smith…can anyone say NIL money? Would be a genius pick but UNC might not be the only team that had this plan in our “New Normal” of college football.
GEORGIA-GEORGIA TECH: The most exciting game of the weekend was played Friday night. The Bulldogs sleep-walked the first half and had to be jolted awake by a gutsy Yellow Jacket QB that reminded a lot of us of Tim Tebow.
Georgia couldn’t stop this kid, but his turnover late in the game on a third-and-short play with massive playoff implications turned out to be the key to the Dawgs getting to overtime and an unbelievable 8OT-win.
I bet those UGA fans that left the game early feel like, well, a dog - you’d think that they know by now that Georgia is the most resilient team in the nation this year. But will the Bulldogs have any gas in the tank for Texas?
OHIO STATE-MICHIGAN: Two great defenses and Ryan Day has the best team NIL money could buy with one goal in mind - beat Michigan - but the Wolverines win again for 4 in a row.
Too bad the only thing people will be talking about is the brawl after the game. Trying to plant your flag on someone else’s field is usually a bad idea, but it again points to the emotion of a rivalry … and, also, terrible sportsmanship.
TEXAS-TEXAS A&M: The Longhorns are still the sexy pick - and the least tired of the top two SEC teams. Their schedule had some speed bumps but it was easier on the scale compared to most. Aggies failed miserably on the play call at the end of the game. Sark is a play-calling genius in big games … I hope Kirby is ready. Sark will throw some different looks this time around.
SOUTH CAROLINA-CLEMSON: Another example of a big-time talent in Gamecock QB Sellers finally having his moment. The Gamecocks may not go to the playoffs (editor’s note: See Bill Rice’s column below), but they will use this to continue to build their program.
ALABAMA-AUBURN: Jalen Milroe scares a lot of defensive coordinators, contrary to what Tide fans feel about his roller coaster performance. When he can run, he usually wins the race and he outran Auburn even though he had 4 turnovers. It was obvious that DeBoer wanted more ball distribution on offense and that was achieved, especially at WR.
Ryan Williams continues to drop passes and his effect has diminished, but he will improve. Bama’s defense deserves a lot of the credit for this win.
Even though it is now 5 in a row over Auburn, it sure doesn’t feel like it to most Tide fans. It feels more like an annual heart attack that the doctor tells you is coming but changes the medication needed to rectify it every year - and then forgets where he put it.
So here is the question: With no bowl game, does Auburn keep or lose players to transfer portal now? And what did Freeze say to Milroe after the game? Bama fans’ opinions vary.
In other news …
The news that Gus Malzahn is now going to focus strictly on offensive play calling by leaving UCF to be the new offensive coordinator at FSU is certainly interesting.
One of the most interesting players in CFB history, Andrew Luck has been coaching junior high football, but is the new GM at Stanford.
This is a trend taking steam in CFB and it adopts an NFL business template. Treating a CFB program like a business is probably the right angle.
My prediction: Schools with money, but with limited winning traditions in CFB, will start making money (and recruiting big time players) with no guardrails in NIL. Schools like Stanford, SMU, Vanderbilt, Duke, etc. will a bring business acumen to the athletic programs.
If I was writing a thesis, this would be my topic - how traditional academic schools can now choose to compete athletically with NIL, collective, and endowment dollars invested to create even more money for their institutions. The big boys will continue to spend too, but the field is now wide open.
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Playoff Debate Season Commences …
By BILL RICE, JR.
Quick Opinion Column
After Alabama laid an egg in Norman last week, I wrote a headline saying “put a fork in Bama.”
However, I might have written too soon as Alabama - despite three losses - can still make a valid/plausible case it is one of the top 12 teams in the country and, perhaps, should make the playoff field after all.
To be clear, I don’t think this will happen (as several teams that might win conference titles - and are ranked lower than Alabama - could/will secure automatic berths this weekend.)
I also noted yesterday that the pundit/talking heads class is already lobbying for South Carolina to make the playoff field ahead of Bama. (I just read a story at ESPN where the most-influential sports network surveyed 12 of their writers and eight had South Carolina making the field - just two had Alabama making the field).
This is strange to me as both teams are now 9-3. One might think the tie-breaker in this pick scenario would be head-to-head competition. Alabama beat South Carolina 27-25 seven weeks ago (my kids and I were there).
Alabama was also ranked No. 13 in the last CFP ranking compared to South Carolina’s 15. (Alabama should move up to at least No. 11 in this week’s rankings, but probably won’t).
The argument for South Carolina is the Gamecocks are playing their best football at the end of the season and have now won six in a row. This is a fair argument but IMO it still doesn’t trump head-to-head games.
Also, Alabama has won four of its last five, including blowout wins over No. 21 Missouri (34-0) and AT LSU, a team that should make the final Top 25 after the Tigers’ 20-point win over Oklahoma Saturday night. (The Tigers are now 8-4).
If LSU does crack the Top 25, this would give Alabama four victories over Top 25 teams, the best record (by far) of any “bubble” team.
As mentioned, my prediction is Alabama will be at the top of the dreaded “almost-in” list when the inaugural 12-team playoff field is announced next Sunday.
Alabama, of course, could have made this a moot conversation by winning at Oklahoma or Vandy so the Tide has to look at itself in the mirror.
Still, I do think if this Crimson Tide team made the playoff field, Bama’s is talented enough on any given Saturday to beat any of the other 12 teams in the playoff field and even win a national championship.
I certainly think Alabama would beat Indiana, SMU, Boise State and could beat Tennessee in a rematch. Alabama beating No. 1 seed Oregon wouldn’t be much of an upset.
As a Bama fan, I’m now pulling for Georgia to win decisively over Texas in the SEC championship game. This would probably make Georgia one of the Top 2 seeds … and Alabama fans could argue that the Tide beat Georgia, which no doubt would be the Vegas favorite to win the national title.
We’ll all watch the “debate season” with interest, but I’m bracing for a Citrus Bowl invitation.
BTW, if Alabama can win its likely bowl game, the Tide would have secured 17 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins. I need to do some research, but that might be an all-time record.
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The floating hat …
I’d missed this “homecoming light show” photo/video from a Homecoming Pep Rally on the Quad near Denny Chimes. The light show depicted Nick Saban’s signature straw hat floating in the sky like a flying saucer. Cool!
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Troy Closes Season in Dominant Fashion
By Troy Sports Information
Troy's dynamic rushing attack was put on display Saturday afternoon as the Trojans closed their season with a dominant 52-20 win over Southern Miss at The Vet in Sun Belt action. The Trojans closed the season winning three of their final four games.
Troy (4-8, 3-5 SBC) finished the game with 266 rushing yards, its second-highest total of the season, which included a 166-yard, 3-touchdown performance from Damien Taylor.
Quotable – Head Coach Gerad Parker:
"Our players stuck behind us and kept an open heart and found a way to keep fighting and keep practicing. I said all season – if you saw the way these guys have been practicing, you would not believe that we have a losing culture,” said Coach Parker after the game.
“That showed itself the last five weeks of the season, especially in results, and that's a testament to our senior leadership, our staff, and our upperclassmen leaders. I couldn't be more happy with how it's finished, winning three of our last four. That will build momentum for our current roster as well as in recruiting, and we're going to fight to keep that going."
Taylor surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season in the fourth quarter, finishing with 1,010, while Devonte Ross exceeded the 1,000-yard receiving mark on the opening drive of the second half.
Ross had five receptions for 70 yards in the game and finished his junior campaign with 1,043 receiving yards, the fourth most all-time in Troy history.
Taylor and Ross are the first duo to top the 1,000-yard rushing and receiving mark in the same season since Shawn Southward (1,012 rushing) and Chip Reeves (1,050 receiving) did so in 2012. It is just the third time in program history that Troy has had a 1,000-yard rusher and receiver in the same season.
On the defensive side, Troy shut down the Southern Miss running game, as it held the Golden Eagles to 31 yards and 1.0 yards per carry, which were both season bests for the Trojans.
Tate Rodemaker passed for 234 yards with a pair of touchdowns for the Golden Eagles, but Troy picked him off twice in the fourth quarter as Ian Conerly-Goodly got his first interception as a Trojan on a 31-yard pick-6 while L.J. Green snagged the first interception of his career.
Southern Miss struck first with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Kenyon Clay and a 2-point conversion reception by Kyirin Heath following a muffed punt by the Trojans, but Troy responded with 24 unanswered points to take a commanding 24-8 lead.
The Trojans put up 10 in the first quarter with a 6-yard rushing touchdown by Taylor and a 50-yard field goal by Scott Taylor Renfroe, the longest of his career.
Matthew Caldwell passed for 187 yards and found the end zone on the ground with a 15-yard scramble in the second quarter.
Taylor burst through the middle of the Golden Eagle defense for a 56-yard touchdown in the third quarter, while Southern Miss got back on the board with a 75-yard receiving touchdown by Larry Simmons. Troy killed the Southern Miss momentum on its next drive as Caldwell hit Trae Swartz for a 10-yard touchdown.
Troy finished the game with three consecutive scores.
The Damien Taylor show continued as he broke off a 35-yard score before Conerly-Goodly's pick-six. After Green's interception, Jordan Lovett scored the first touchdown of his career from five yards out.
Notable:
• Troy improved to 6-8 all-time against Southern Miss. The Trojans have won four straight against the Golden Eagles and five of the last six. Five of USM's eight wins in the series came between 1936-40.
• Troy improved to 42-4 since 2015 when rushing for more than 150 yards after tallying 266 rushing yards.
• Troy finished the game with 52 points, it’s the highest scoring game of the season and most points against a Sun Belt or FBS opponent since Texas State in 2019 (63).
• With an 11-yard gain on the opening drive of the second half, receiver Devonte Ross became the sixth player in program history to reach the 1,000-yard mark.
• Ross finished the season with 1,043 receiving yards, the fourth most in program history. His 76 catches, which rank as the fifth-most in a season in Troy history.
• Devonte Ross finished with five catches for 70 yards; he has five or more receptions in five of the last six games.
• Damien Taylor became the 11th player in program history to top the 1,000-yard rushing mark; it was Troy's 13th 1,000-yard rushing season (Kimani Vidal and DeWhitt Betterson both did so twice).
• Damien Taylor finished the season with 1,010 rushing yards, the 12th most in a season in program history.
• Damien Taylor rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries; it was his fourth 100-yard game this season. Both his yardage and touchdowns were new career-highs, as was his 56-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
• Troy ran 71 offensive plays; the Trojans have topped the 70 plays in five straight games; the Trojans had run 58 or fewer plays in four of the previous six games.
• Troy scored 14 points in the third quarter and 21 points in the fourth quarter; the Trojans have scored at least 14 points in a quarter in five straight games.
• Trae Swartz caught a 10-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, the second of his career. Troy tight ends have a touchdown reception in four of the last five games.
• Troy recorded three sacks in the game; the 26th time over the last three seasons its had multiple sacks in a game. The Trojans entered the week ranked eighth nationally in the sacks.
• Troy forced Southern Miss into five three-and-outs; the Trojans have now forced four or more three-and-outs in five of the last six games.
• Troy held Southern Miss to 290 yards of total offense; Troy has held 29 of its last 35 opponents to less than 400 yards. Troy has held 17 opponents to fewer than 300 yards since the start of the 2022 season.
• Scott Taylor Renfroe's 50-yard field goal in the first quarter was a new career long; he made a 49-yard kick earlier this year against ULM. It was his first attempt from 50-plus yards in his career. It was the longest field goal by a Trojan since a 51-yard field goal by Brooks Buce at South Alabama on Oct. 20, 2022.
• Scott Taylor Renfroe scored nine points to move into 15th place all-time in Troy history with 174 career points scored.
Judy Morgan Day at The Vet
On Saturday, Troy Athletics celebrated the career of Troy Football secretary Judy Morgan, who is in her 25th season with Troy Football and 30th with Troy University. “Ms. Judy” will retire from Troy University at the end of 2024. Morgan has worked with five head football coaches and been part of 10 conference championship teams.
Morgan’s primary responsibilities included coordinating all events for head coach Gerad Parker, working with assistant coaches in their recruiting efforts and maintaining the program’s information database.
A life-long resident of Pike and Coffee counties, Morgan is a graduate of Zion Chapel High School and attended Wallace Business College. Morgan, who resides in Troy and is the proud mom of Michael Morgan, is in her 30th year at Troy.
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Terri Shaw rings the bell for Salvation Army (and reminds us of “what Christmas is all about”)
Terri Shaw posted this photo on her Facebook site recently:
Wrote Teri: “Our third year ringing the bell for Salvation Army on “Iron Bowl” Game Day at Walmart. This year we brought with us our best friends to share our Christmas Spirit, Love of Jesus and team rivalry - all for the people of Pike County. We had a gentleman share what the Salvation Army did for him 10 years ago and gives thanks to God and them. This, people, is what Christmas is all about!
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Alabama’s Most Beautiful Campus
Citizen readers already know I’m in the (biased) camp who thinks Troy University really does have “Alabama’s most beautiful campus,” which is going to become even more beautiful with the completion of the Lagoon project in six or so months.
I’ve also written text which reminded readers that the famous landscape architecture firm of The Olmsted Brothers designed the original campus, including the Main Quad.
It took about 60 years to implement the brothers’ original plan for the Quad, but the project was a belated and spectacular success.
I’d never seen this photo of the quad until this morning. I found this photo on Facebook and thought it was too pretty not to publish!
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We’re now heading into the second
full month of the re-booted Troy Citizen
… Thank you to everyone who’s already supported this venture with a free or paid subscription. In its first five weeks, The Citizen has generated more than 25,000 “page views.”
I still haven’t written most of my high-interest stories. Thank you to everyone who has supported “Alabama’s first Substack newspaper.” Also, thank you for sharing content with friends and family members. - Bill Rice, Jr.
hey Bill that was really cool of you to send around that mark oshinskie piece. he's one of the best writers on the web or anywhere. i bet he'd write for the troy citizen if you asked him to